Rodrigo Aliendro, River Plate midfielder, fractures facial bone during defeat against Boca Juniors in the Argentine Superclásico, and will undergo surgery in the coming days, potentially ruling him out for the rest of the semester.
River Plate informed about the injury details through a medical report released late at night: "Rodrigo Aliendro suffered a facial bone fracture with depression of the cheekbone and involvement of the orbital floor. He will undergo surgery in the coming days."
The native of Merlo, who had entered the halftime of the match replacing Andrés Herrera, suffered the injury at the 22-minute mark of the second half. While preparing for a defensive to offensive transition, Alan Varela brought him down, and in an accidental situation, the former Colón player collided with the knee of the Boca Juniors' youth player.
Although the play continued, Aliendro remained on the ground at La Bombonera with blood on his face and clear signs of pain. A few seconds later, the referee Darío Herrera, who did not book Varela, stopped the game for River's player to receive medical attention.
When Aliendro arrived at the substitute bench with a highly swollen cheekbone, immediately Marcelo Gallardo decided to substitute him, despite the player's intentions - who burst into tears - to continue on the field. Agustín Palavecino took his place in the team from the 24th minute of the second half.
12 minutes later, at the 36th minute, the game was stopped for the stretcher to transport the 31-year-old midfielder to the dressing room. From there, the Chacarita youth product was taken to the Finochietto Sanatorium, where he was diagnosed with a facial bone fracture with depression of the cheekbone and involvement of the orbital floor (but not the skull or brain).
Although there are no official recovery timelines yet, the River player, who had experienced a similar situation in his debut with the red and white jersey against Vélez (entered at the 61st minute and exited at the 89th minute due to a hard blow), will undergo surgery during the week and will potentially be sidelined for the rest of the semester.